Cambridge Education Guide Spring:Summer21 Web

23

GENERAT ION COV I D

Bridging the inequality gap

W I T H A W I D E N I N G C H A S M B E T W E E N C H I L D R E N O F D I F F E R I N G B A C K G R O U N D S , I N I T I A T I V E S A R E H E L P I N G D I S A D V A N T A G E D P U P I L S R E A L I S E T H E I R P O T E N T I A L

hile many statistics related to the pandemic are startling, those around children’s education and wellbeing are more jaw-dropping than most. With the education of 10 million school-age pupils disrupted by the pandemic, there is a growing need to identify what the effects are, who’s been worst affected, as well as the consequences for these children and, ultimately, the economy as a whole. One way of working out how people progress in later life is to add up the time they spent in school. Statistically, the shorter the time in education, the lower their earnings. According to one study, children who have missed half a year of school during the pandemic are set to earn £40,000 less throughout their lives than if they had stayed in school. Inevitably, the impact is greatest on children who were already disadvantaged. Teachers worry that, as a result of lockdown, the gap in educational achievement between these children W

CAMBRIDGE EDUCAT ION GUIDE

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